Something to Talk About
by DD Agent
Summary: While getting ready for one of the SecNav's parties, Jenny and Jethro have a fight that could ruin everything. Another part of the 'Micha Makes Four' verse.


**Something to Talk About by DD Agent**

_I do not own NCIS or any of its characters, or its settings - all belongs to the lovely folks at CBS._

_This is the sequel to 'The Kids Are Alright' and 'The Lion King', also known as part of the Micha Makes Four Series. A big thank you to MatteaAM for looking over this for me, she was indispensable for this fic. _

_Thank you to those who reviewed 'The Lion King' - thank you MarciaRebaFan; MissJayne; MatteaAM; Pretty Crazy; jstapny; Paris-eternellement and left my heart in Paris!_

_Hope you will enjoy this x_

Leroy Jethro Gibbs understood he was a lucky man. He had two amazing children who loved him dearly. The woman he had loved for nearly fifteen years shared his life and shared his bed. He couldn't ask for anything more.

Jethro didn't understand, though, why he had to come to the party the SecNav was throwing that night.

He had never been one for the parties Jarvis and Jenny's political associates threw. This one was apparently a wine and cheese gathering with an apparent air of the hangman coming after several in the room. His lover was not exempt from this craziness. Ever since they had attended the President's New Year bash, Jenny had been subdued on the topic of work and had been working more and more hours. Even her lunch hours were now filled with various meetings with dignitaries.

Jethro was worried that as the elections drew nearer, his Jenny would be drawn into bad habits. Working hard, drinking more bourbon than she should. He knew he wasn't exempt from such habits - in fact he was sure some of them she had got from him - but they were a family now, or trying to be. It was not easy: Jay still had difficulties speaking and Micha had been sent home from pre-school for playing with matches and he and Jenny hadn't had sex in a month…but they were trying.

Family, as Jethro was beginning to understand, was a work in progress.

And he wanted it to work.

He was on his way to ask Jenny if there was any way he could not attend the party when he heard giggling from their bedroom. Peeking in, he grinned at the sight he was met with. He shouldn't have been worried - Jenny knew what she was doing. She was the one steady part of their family.

His lover was currently brushing their daughter's hair in front of the large mirror Jenny had brought from her own home. Micha was standing on one of the chairs from her bedroom while her mother stood behind her, brushing out her long red hair. Jethro's grin couldn't help but widen as he watched the two of them, mother and daughter. Two beautiful redheads. Micha was giggling as Jenny tickled her ears, and Jenny was looking at her daughter with something that made Jethro ache. He was a very lucky man.

"Do you think he'll like my dress?"

That got his attention. Jenny, who should be the one in the dress, was in a silk robe - obviously not ready for the party yet. His young daughter, who favoured ash covered dungarees, was wearing a pretty green dress that brought out her eyes. Jethro didn't know who Micha was trying to impress, but he suspected it had something to do with her babysitters for the evening. Tony and Tim were coming over to look after them.

Tony's words five years ago about dating his daughter came back to him and although they were said long before Micha was even conceived, Jethro was not a happy man.

His growl was obviously audible as his lover looked up to see him standing in the doorway. "Jethro, are you okay?"

Trying to regain some colour to his cheeks, Jethro walked into the room and pressed a kiss to his daughter's nose before placing his lips over Jenny's mouth. "I'm fine. Micha, sweetheart, you want to see if your brother is ready?"

"Okey dokey," Micha replied, giving her mother a kiss before dragging her chair out of the room, banging the plastic furniture against several real articles as she closed the door shut.

Happy they were alone; Jethro sat on the edge of their bed as he looked up at Jenny. Her hair was curled for the party tonight; she had already applied some light make up to her face. It was now or never. "Do I have to come tonight?"

He could see instantly that that had been the wrong question to ask. He watched his lover raise a hand to pinch the bridge of her nose. "Jethro…" She moved her hands down to the ties of her robe and shucked the silk over her shoulders, revealing her naked body except for a single scrap of lace between her thighs. "If you come tonight, I will make it worth your while. Twice."

Jethro couldn't help but chuckle at that. They hadn't made love in a while, and he missed her. He stood up and put his arms around his lover, pushing her close to him. She was beautiful; sexy…she knew what she wanted and how to get it. He leaned down to press his mouth to Jenny's, pushing his tongue against hers almost instantly. He would barely be able to keep his hands off of her that night.

As the kiss broke, Jenny pressed her lips to his cheek. "I better get ready."

Jethro grinned as he watched her walk over to the wardrobe where she opened it to retrieve her dress for the evening. Red, backless…every eye would be on her that night. He leant back on their bed, his hands behind his head.

"So what is this about Micha wanting to impress?" Gibbs asked, trying to keep his voice steady as he moved onto safer ground and back to the bed. "Please don't tell me she has a crush on DiNozzo?"

Jenny chuckled as she took the dress off the hanger and slid it over her naked body. "She doesn't have a crush on DiNozzo."

"Good."

"She has a crush on McGee."

Jethro felt himself choking as he looked up at his lover. "McGee?"

Jenny laughed as she walked over and sat by Jethro on the bed. "It's just a little crush. When she starts falling in love with boys her own age you can worry then. But this is McGee, he's not going to go after our daughter considering her age. I doubt even if she was anywhere near to puberty he wouldn't." She kissed his cheek. "I'd worry about McGee more than Micha. There's a reason why Burley is scared of her."

He chuckled and watched as his wife moved over to the dresser and moved through her jewellery trying to find the perfect items to go with that dress. She looked beautiful. Even though he hated going to those parties, having to deal with politicians and wandering hands, he loved that she would be on his arm.

"Jethro, about the party…"

"I don't have to go?" He asked, ever hopeful.

Jenny turned around from the mirror, her hands trembling. Jenny didn't tremble - this couldn't mean anything good. "Jethro, tonight I…this is hard. Tonight I was hoping you'd be there as my protection detail, not as my escort."

He didn't understand what she was saying. "Jen…even if I am your escort I'll protect you. Why do you not want me to be on your arm?" His tone grew harsher. "Are you ashamed of me or something?"

"No…" Jenny put her hands over her face. "Jethro, this is going to be a party of lots of ass kissing. Me and Jarvis are both using this party to try and make sure our jobs are secure come November depending on which party gets in the White House."

Jethro nodded. "And the Republicans hate you."

She smirked. "Of course they hate me. I'm a woman running an armed federal agency who is not married to the father of her two children." He watched her swallow harshly. "I need you there so the democrats can see you support me and hopefully see that we're still a family unit even though we're not married." He watched Jenny pause." And I need you to not stand too close so I can flirt with the republicans who think they can get into my pants because we're not married."

"I'm sorry…flirt with the republicans? Jen, you expect me to stand by and let you do that?"

Jethro had a problem with her request. He stood up and walked to where Jenny was by the mirror and watched her screw her earrings in. In Paris, Jenny had flirted and seduced her way to get the information they had needed. He didn't realise she still did it in her political career. Especially when they were together.

She turned around to face him. They were nose to nose in front of the mirror, fire burning in both their eyes. This is what she had been avoiding by not talking about work, what she always avoided by not talking about work. This argument. The fact that his lover was a politician, no longer an agent. It had always been another fight for another night.

Well this night had come.

Jenny bit her lip and looked at him like she was talking to Micha and Jay. "Jethro, I need to do this. Do you understand how many self justifying speeches I had to give proclaiming my right to a modern family? Do you understand how many people I had to blackmail to keep my job? I blew about a brothel of information in order for us to have this life. And I will do whatever I can to keep my job."

He moved into her face, his hand jerking Jenny's chin up. "Well that's good to know, Jenny. And thank you for all your sacrifices for this family. I don't believe you were the one whose job had to be downgraded to 'Protection Detail and MCRT liaison' to appease the politicians when they found out about us."

She looked up at him, and he recognised that glint. That was the glint her eyes had every time they fought at work. It had finally come home with them. "Which is merely a formality. You still run your team."

"And how long is that going to last?" Jethro growled.

She moved her eyes away from him, not wanting to look at him. "Don't come tonight, Jethro. Stay at home if you want to. But I am going because I am going to do whatever I can to keep my job."

"Such a tempting offer…come and watch or just worry about my…well, girlfriend prostituting herself for her job." Jethro forced himself away from her. "You're not my fiancée; you're definitely not my wife. Just my girlfriend. My girlfriend, the political whore."

She slapped him then, almost drawing blood. He could see the green eyes he adored so much - the green eyes both his children shared - producing tears. They could always rip each other to shreds when it suited them. "Well no one is asking you to watch, Jethro."

Jenny turned around from him and went into their adjacent bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

X

Whenever they fought, Jenny had the strong urge to leave the house and go back to her old family home. But leaving would only make things worse. So, once she had heard their bedroom door slam shut, Jenny had wiped her face clean of her tears and went to find her children. Jethro would go down into the basement, determined to take his anger out on a piece of wood no doubt. Jenny didn't have such a luxury anymore - there was no study where she could bury her head in a book.

She wanted to play with her children instead.

"Mommy, are you and Daddy okay?" Micha asked as the two of them sat on the floor, playing with Micha's doll house. It was a beautiful thing. She admired Jethro's skills so much. Just not his words some times.

Jenny pressed a kiss to the top of Micha's head. "We're fine sweetie. Your Daddy just doesn't want to go to the party."

"You should take Grandpa Ducky. I'm sure he'd have fun."

Jenny giggled as they continued to play with the dolls. She loved spending time with Micha, having some fun doing girly stuff occasionally. She was so much like her father and although Jenny was incredibly glad of their bond - she had loved her own father dearly - sometimes she just wanted to spend some time with her beautiful daughter. Because although Jay was the reason why they had been brought back together the first time, it was Micha that had made their bond permanent.

"I love you so much Micha," Jenny whispered, pulling her small daughter into her arms. She could hear Micha sniff as she held her tighter. "You are an amazing little girl, you know that?"

"I love you Mommy."

There was a knock on the door and both redheads turned to see the door open and Jay come in. The small brown haired boy came over and buried himself in his mother's side. He felt a little cold, like he had been tucked away in a hidey hole in his father's basement.

"You okay Jay? What have you been up to?" Jen asked, cuddling her children close.

He looked up at his mother, smiling. "Reading." He reached up and whispered something in his mother's ear. "You look pretty."

"Why thank you Jasper." Jenny grinned and watched as her son's face lit up. "You want to play dolls with me and Micha?"

The little boy nodded and crawled over to take a doll to play with. The four dress-up dolls Micha had moved around the house and into the car that they kept in the basement garage. The doll's house was the only girly thing her daughter really had, other than a larger doll that Abby had given her as a Christmas present. Micha had started to carry her around everywhere, like Jay and his sock snail the scientist had made him. Simon the sock snail.

As the dolls started to get dressed for the political party they had to go to, there was a knock on Micha's door. There could only be one person who it was, and all three of them looked behind them to see Jethro open the door. He poked his head through, his face still pierced in anger.

"Jenny…can we talk?"

She wanted to say no and throw the doll car at him but instead she just nodded. Jenny then pressed a kiss to both her children's heads and left them to play together. Still wearing her dress, she joined Jethro in walking down the stairs and down into the basement where hopefully they wouldn't be heard by their eager children.

Jethro moved over to his workbench and poured them both a mason jar full of bourbon. He handed one to her and leant against his workbench, trying to work out what to say next. Jenny leant against the boat that her daughter was building with her lover and sighed. She felt so uncomfortable in this house sometimes. She looked up to see that Jethro was staring at her, as if he knew what she was thinking.

"How many times have we stood like this, Jethro?" Jenny whispered after a few moments. "Drinking bourbon, both wanting to screw each other's brains out? Anything to avoid the issues. We don't argue a lot anymore because of Micha and Jay. But when we do, Jethro…what does get sorted?"

Her lover nodded, understanding what she was saying. He then took his glass of bourbon and tipped the alcohol back into the bottle.

"So let's talk." He shrugged and moved over to the corner of his basement where she could see that a couple of beanbags had been laid out. Jay had made his own little nest where he could read with his father.

Sitting on the beanbags, Jenny looked at Jethro. She was dressed, ready for a party. He was the same old Jethro. That was half their problem. They had grown as parents, but perhaps not as people. As their relationship needed them to.

"You've been acting cranky since New Year," Jethro whispered in the quiet of the basement. "I get that you're worried about your job but dammit Jenny…"

She looked at her hands, trying to gather her words. "Jethro, how do you see this family?"

He shrugged. "Micha sets fire to things. Jay wants to take over from Charlie Chaplin. I have no clue what I'm doing with either of them, and apparently with you too. And you, Jen…you're perfect all the time and sometimes I resent that. You know how to make them love you, know how to be their mother automatically. I feel like such an outsider in this family sometimes."

Jenny nodded, reaching over to kiss him lightly on the mouth. She could taste her own tears on her tongue. "You're not, Jethro. You are…I couldn't do the things I do without you. But I'm worried, I'm worried every day that I'm going to screw them up, that I'm working too much to see them. And the job…the job that I've worked so hard to get and I do love…it just doesn't mean as much to me as you three." Jenny bowed her head. "It terrifies me that I would so easily give up everything I've worked for and stand for to have this life with you."

Jethro put his arm around her, holding her close. "Jenny…it's okay to be worried about messing your kids up. But you are a wonderful mother and an unfortunately an amazing Director." He lifted her chin up. "You'll keep your job, or get an even better one. I wish you had talked to me about all this, Jen."

"I think we all need to talk more, listen harder to what people are saying." Jenny kissed his cheek. She sighed. "Jethro I don't want to go to this party. There's a part of me that wants to fight for my job, flirt with every sweaty, greasy politician there to keep it. But the bigger part of me wants to stay at home with you, and the kids, and just watch a movie. The Director in me won out tonight, Jethro." She clung onto his hand as tight as she could. "I really hate that bitch."

He started laughing, which started a chain reaction in her. Eventually they were both laughing, Jethro clinging onto Jenny. "It's okay, Jenny, to not know what you want. As long as you love us, we'll support you no matter what. I will love you no matter what you want to do."

Jenny thought for a moment about what she wanted. "I don't want to be your political whore, Jethro. I never wanted to be her, and I don't want to be her anymore."

"I didn't mean to call you a whore," Jethro whispered, resting his head against hers. "I am so sorry for that."

Jenny kissed his lips gently. "Don't apologise, it's a sign of weakness. I should have used my head and realised that there is no way you would have gone along with it." Jethro nodded, and squeezed her hand back. "Now, the person in me is winning out. I'm going to call Jarvis, tell him I'm not going."

"Jen…"

She kissed him softly again, resting her hand on her face. She felt calm, at peace. This was the right decision to make. She had given up so much for the job; she didn't want to do it anymore. She couldn't. "I love you, Jethro. And we're a family. I don't want us to be two people dating who are raising children. I want to be a couple; I don't want you to watch me flirt for my job. I want you to be proud of me, Jethro."

He kissed the tears that slipped down her skin. "I am so proud of you, Jenny. All that you are, all that you have done. All that we will do. You make us strong." He nuzzled her neck. "You make me strong."

Just as they clung onto each other, holding desperately, the door to the basement opened and two heads peeked in. Two heads that were grinning like crazy.

X

They had stayed up late watching movies as a family. Jarvis had seemingly understood Jenny's phone call, and Jethro couldn't get over how happier his lover seemed now she was at home. He knew she loved her job, but he could see that politics was losing its appeal now she had something else. Something that was better, more whole.

Jethro was starting to wonder when he should bring up moving home and even when he should propose. Soon, he believed. They were finally all ready to make a family.

"Jethro?"

He looked up from their bed to see Jenny in his NIS t-shirt and a pair of shorts. She looked beautiful. "Everything okay?"

She smiled. "Yeah, it is. I'm just…happy but worried about what's coming."

Jethro just shrugged. "Whatever happens, we'll face it together. That is the beauty of being with someone. If it's good, then they will be behind you no matter what. You're not alone any more Jen. You're with me."

He watched that smile he loved so much - the smile his son had - fall over her face as she jumped into their bed. He pushed her red curls off of her face and leaned over to kiss her. She kissed him back softly, threading her arms around his neck and holding him as close as she could. Eventually he broke it off to breathe, but Jethro couldn't keep his hands away from her skin.

"You're not alone, Jen." He kissed her softly again. "Let me show you how not alone you are."

He felt his lover moan as he pressed her to the cream sheets of their bed. He had missed her. Jenny ran her hands down his back as they kissed, wanting to touch him everywhere. His mouth moved over her neck, wanting to taste her skin. It felt so good. His hands moved over her breasts, touching them through his t-shirt. They then moved downwards, hoping to take it off. With Jenny's help they removed the t-shirt from her body and threw it against the drapes.

It was cold in their bedroom, and Jethro brought her close to him. He cradled her in his arms, her breasts pressed against his chest. Their kisses were languid, taking the time to familiarise themselves with each other's bodies again. Jethro's mouth sucked on Jenny's pulse point, drawing a muffled gasp from his lover. His hands traced her freckled shoulders, fingers grazed breasts. As their kiss grew hotter his hands couldn't get a grip so they just slid over her back, teasing her spine until she was arching against him.

"Jethro…" Jenny whispered. "God Jethro, I love you."

He grinned as she helped him pull off of his own t-shirt. "I love you too, Jenny. You are…" He paused as he clasped her face between his hands. "I don't think I've ever been happier."

He could see the doubt in her eyes for a moment, but it was lost as he pressed her to the sheets and pressed his mouth over her hot skin. Underwear was removed in spare moments when their hands were not busy sliding and cupping their lover's bodies. Jethro pulled the sheets over them as they began to make love.

His mouth teased her nipples while her hands gripped his ass, needing him inside of her. Eventually he gave in, sinking inside Jenny. Her thighs went up around his waist, her heels pressing into his ass in order to take more of him. They needed to be close, as close as they possibly could be.

Their hands were clasped, pressing against Jenny's pillow. His mouth was teasing her jaw, not kissing her in order to hear her light moans fall from her lips. Jethro's rhythm began, moving in and out of his lover. They were close, completing each other in that moment. It had been a while for both of them; both needed a release so they weren't expecting hours and hours of love making. But just as Jethro could feel Jenny on the edge and his own release coming, she pulled away from his hands and clasped his face to her own.

They met eye to eye, their smiles as bright as humanly possible. Their bodies were covered in sweat; they could barely speak because every nerve was on fire. But for one moment, one single moment as his warm blue eyes met her rich green; there was no one else in the world. No problems, no worries, no drama.

Just two people very much in love who would always be so.


End file.
